


The Cursed Music Box

by Of_Swords_and_Crowns



Series: Only I can See the Flowers [5]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:20:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Swords_and_Crowns/pseuds/Of_Swords_and_Crowns
Series: Only I can See the Flowers [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011648





	The Cursed Music Box

What a stressful few days. I was so fed up that I finally got round to clearing out my aunt’s attic. I found some old junk, well I thought it was junk, amongst them were some oil paintings and a music box. Do you ever get the feeling that you have found something valuable? An unknown treasure? I found some dusty paintings that were in good condition. But that music box was a different story. Someone had bashed the back in order to remove the batteries and the design was unrecognisable. Even though I thought it was junk, it looked really old. I hoped that the antiques dealer down the street would agree. 

I recalled all the many rows of ‘antiques’ before I approached Ella. Everyone knows Ella and, unfortunately for most, Ella knows everyone. Always ready with a quick retort or gossip is Ella. She was sat in a corner with a grandfather clock by her side and an oil radiator behind her. Before approaching her with my proposition I took a look around. I’m glad I didn’t get the jewellery box for £50. Even though I knew Lissa would have loved it. But the way Ella rolled her eyes then muttered under her breath about T.V making people ‘experts’ made me feel better about turning it down.

I’m glad that I took that deep breath before I showed her what I found. Ella was quite intimidating. She was eager to buy everything for a good price, however. She didn’t buy the paintings no matter how I bargained. Apparently she had seen too many bad deals and damage to the art. Ella seemed to think that she knew their worth better than me. I didn’t point out I had worked with my Aunt in her shop many times. She thought I had gotten my knowledge from T.V and that I was trying to rob her of hard-earned money. Despite all of this, I still had hope that I would get a good price for the music box. But according to Ella, it was too damaged. Before I left, she recommended A Tisket A Tasket. I knew they only cared about the mice in pinnies-type paintings. And all I had were landscapes.

Back at home, I got to work fixing the music box. The batteries were easy to find. They were shoved in the back of the ageing drawers in the kitchen. The Celtic pattern was a lost cause but I couldn’t give up. So I found some gold paint and an old book on Celt designs; I began making my own pattern to replace the damaged one, even though I knew my ‘art’ wouldn’t come close to the original. Within minutes the music box began looking almost brand new. Carefully, I removed the back of the box and gently heated it over my gas flame then bent it back into shape. Standing back and looking at my masterpiece, you couldn’t tell that it was the same piece of junk that I had found in the attic a couple of days ago.

Like I said what a stressful few days. But the music box did look nice definitely glad Ella didn’t buy it. It was worth the work.

Once the music box was back in one piece, I turned the handle gently. The sound of a sweet melody began to mesmerise me and creep its way around the room, wrapping around me in a warm mist. A voice, quiet and raspy, spoke in my ear. “At last, I am free. It has been a while since I have worn a coat of flesh but I suppose it will do.” My body was no longer my own as I walked to the floor-length mirror in the hall. A female voice spoke in my other ear, “Well my friend you wear it well. What shall we do now?”


End file.
